Stop press Nominations close today, 12/11/2018
Nominations are now open for a Green Party candidate but the big news on twitter is the selection of the Labour candidate.
His website attacks Matthew offord MP for rarely bothering to visit the comstituency, fair comment as Matthew claimed to live in the constituency and commute on the rail lines we rely on. He then says what you might expect about rebuilding labours good reputation in the Jewish community and some policy campaigns. He talks about his union positions.
It's obvious that after all the party infighting both wings want to unite against the tories.
However the Green Party will be there to push for a more left leaning government rather than this career politician. We know him from Tatton where he stood in 2015 against George Osborne and Tina Louise, then Labour were pro fracking.
Previous work experience was as a policy advisor to a New Labour MP and now he works for the centre right think tank Fabien Society whose fans include the new Labour candidate for Underhill, Jess who hid away to stop getting into arguments with white working class constituents in Barnet a only Labour Leave ward.
The usual suspects are quick to congratulate him.
These include his own family who work for the consultants EY as a partner, in the pharmaceutical industry "health" sector. So expect more of the PFI engineering of Andrew Dismore who voted for Foundation Hospitals while claiming to support our NHS.
So will he win? I predicted Labour would lose West Hendon following poor ward results in 2016. Perhaps my criticisms of bad team spirit in West Hendon were unfounded. If he helped there and others did , perhaps it wasn't one councillor leafleting on his own. Still the campaign got off to a late start hampered by patchy support from GMB the very Labour affiliate that he says he's a rep in.
A by election if Offord resigns, or a GLA campaign to re elect dismore could lead to dozens of suits from across the country knocking on doors of night shift workers to badger us to vote for him. But somehow i doubt they will come all the way from the far reaches of the nation to campaign in this challenging seat. Even if they do, they're outnumbered by demotivated momentum types who have ideological differences and work with smaller leftwing parties.
I am of course disappointed Jasmin didn't win. Her campaign is what Labour should be about but isn't: she helps people, she supports feminism, she really understands COUNCIL housing. And would thrash anyone in a Dance off. Labour don't appreciate intelligence when they see it in their heartland: and there needs to be a second vote on the deal with Barratt's. I wrote to one Councillor and bumped into her on the pub. She thinks my idea to get a candidate from the campaign, who has a working class background, is "bollocks".
So if you are Green Party please write to Obi now to get selected as the main non right-wing force in Hendon.
